Singapore bonds

Singapore is an independent isle city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is the world’s second largest country by population density with four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. The official currency is the Singapore dollar (SGD).

Singapore has one of the most developed bond markets in Asia. The SGD bond market is represented by Singapore Government Securities (SGS), quasi-government bonds, corporate bonds and structured securities. The Singapore's bond market is dominated by the fixed coupon instruments, the increased popularity of which is promoted by the country's debt market performance based on low price level and stable interest rates.

Singapore Government Securities are represented by Singapore Savings Bonds, SGS Bonds and Treasury Bills issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on behalf of the Government. Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) are non-marketable SGS only available to retail investors. They have a 10-year tenor but can be redeemed (in part or fully) by investors before maturity. There are three categories of SGS bonds – SGS (Market Development), SGS (Infrastructure) and Green SGS (Infrastructure). Treasury Bills are short-term Singapore Government Securities (SGS) that mature in one year or less from their issue date.

The corporate sector is represented by corporate debentures (unsecured debt securities, issued by corporations), hybrid securities (in the form of preferred stock, perpetuals, convertible and bonds), medium-term notes (securities with the maturity 5 to 10 years) and securitized debt securities (asset-backed securities and commercial mortgaged-backed securities). The main borrowers at the corporate bond market are government agencies.

The SGD bond market is fully accessible to all issuers and investors globally. There are no capital controls, hedging restrictions, or withholding taxes. SGS bonds are traded on the secondary market – at DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), or United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) branches or on Singapore Exchange (SGX) through securities brokers.